NORMAN, Okla. – Is there a better story in college basketball than what's happening right now with Scott Drew's Baylor Bears?

Playing arguably their best game of the season, the Bears (14-6, 5-2) used a balanced scoring attack and stifling defense to dismantle the Oklahoma Sooners, 77-47, Monday night to win their fifth in a row and move into a first-place tie with Kansas and Kansas State atop the Big 12 standings.

"You don't have many nights like this (in the Big 12), and you're blessed when you do," said Drew, whose team has won five of six games since losing 6-9 sophomore center Tristan Clark to a season-ending injury. "The guys really played well, bought in, competed. They missed shots, it wasn't their night. But, I was really proud that we didn't lose intensity. West Virginia, we had a lead and never really finished that the right way. And I thought we did a much better job."

Mixing its patented zone with tight man-to-man defense, Baylor held Oklahoma (15-6, 3-5) to just 47 points and the Sooners' fewest points since a 72-47 loss to Gonzaga on Nov. 23, 2012. Christian James and Brady Manek, OU's leading two scorers coming into the game, combined to hit just 3-of-13 from the field and scored 11 points.

"Some nights, you're just not making baskets," Drew said. "I thought Flo (Thamba) and Freddie (Gillespie) were tremendous inside. I thought our ball pressure, deflections, made it helpful as well. It was just a good night for us."

Makai Mason led Baylor's balanced scoring attack with 12 points, extending his career-best streak to 12 consecutive games in double figures. Mario Kegler and freshman guard Jared Butler scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Mark Vital chipped in with eight points, a game-high 11 rebounds and two blocks.

The Bears took control early and never trailed after Butler fed Thamba and Vital for back-to-back dunks for a 13-8 lead. Gillespie scored all of his season high-tying eight points in the first half and hit a jumper that stretched the lead to 37-16 before Baylor went into the break up 39-21.

"Everyone had their moments, whether it was offensive spurts or defensive spurts," said Gillespie, who added seven rebounds and two blocks off the bench. "We're on a five-game winning streak and trying to keep it going as long as possible. A five-game winning streak starts with every possession, every minute, every second. That's how we play, that's how we came out."

Getting points from all 11 players, including a 3-pointer by former football player Obim Okeke in the final seconds, the Bears never let up and finished the game on an 8-0 run. Kristian Doolittle matched Mason for game-high scoring honors with 12 points and Miles Reynolds added 11 for OU, which was just 15-of-55 overall and 4-of-20 from 3-point range.

The Bears edged Oklahoma, 39-32, on the boards and outscored the Sooners on fast-break points (11-2), points in the paint (38-18) and points off turnovers (20-12).

"Hopefully, that can continue," Drew said of the Bears getting 20 points off OU's 14 turnovers. "Those are the easiest points to get. And you've got to get them, because half-court defenses are too good in the Big 12. Oklahoma has the 12^th-best defense in the nation. So, for us to score 77 points, shoot 54 percent, we really executed well."

Baylor also improved to 4-0 with the ESPNU broadcasting crew of Kevin Connors and Chris Spatola with consecutive road wins over Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Oklahoma and a home victory on Jan. 8 against then-No. 20 Iowa State.

In his postgame TV interview, Drew said, "I don't know who's scheduling for ESPN, but (Connors and Spatola) are with us. Every game, they're with us. I tell you, we're blessed. We played really well, and they were coming off a game where they played really well (86-55 win over Vanderbilt) and had a great comeback win against Oklahoma State. We were just blessed to catch them at a time when we were really hot."

Baylor returns home to face TCU (15-5, 3-4) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the back end of a doubleheader at the Ferrell Center. The top-ranked Baylor Lady Bears (17-1, 7-0) face last-place Texas Tech (10-9, 1-7) in the early game at 1 p.m.
           
TCU has lost its last four road games and fell to 14^th-ranked Texas Tech, 84-65, Monday night in Lubbock. In the first meeting with Baylor back on Jan. 5, the Horned Frogs held on for an 85-81 win in Fort Worth after letting most of a 19-point halftime lead slip away.

"They're all big in the Big 12, but we definitely want to keep this momentum going." Drew said. "Baylor fans were tremendous the last couple games and really helped us get those wins. So, hopefully, we'll see you guys Saturday and we can give you a lot to cheer for."